Author Notes:

Actually, I wasn't going to post this for a few days still, but I'm in a little bit of a funk at the moment (because of things unrelated to myself, actually). Much as I try to be an optimist, I have bad days and bad moods sometimes like anyone else. I count my blessings that I can recover though. Sometimes, just taking a step back and acknowledging how far I've come with myself really does do wonders for me (even if it has nothing to do with the actual cause of said funk).

Because you know what? Look at this kickass chick. I wasn't always like this. I had to work for this. I had to earn this! It wasn't easy, and many tears were shed along the way. I am human, and I failed sometimes. And I still do fail sometimes. It sucks and it's upsetting, but life goes on. And every time I look in the mirror, I'm reminded of why I should be proud.

Because I'm not just seeing a reflection of myself. I'm seeing my greatest achievement. Nothing and no one can take that away from me.

Thank you always for your constant support and encouragement, everyone. I wish you all a wonderful day.

Seriously, Jocelyn, you're such an inspiration. All those high school kids that whine about having to hide their interests and stuff because of peer pressure should just take a look at you. You've had to work harder to be yourself than almost all them—at the very least harder than anyone I know—and you're still pushing. You're one of the strongest people I've ever spoken to, and such an inspiration. Remember that next time you feel down about yourself.

I'm not really sure how to phrase this. I know some of your story, but I've not met a lot of people in this situation, and I'm petrified of slipping up on a word somewhere and annoying the creator of a webcomic I love dearly.

But for what it's worth, I'll say this: I see absolutely nothing in these pictures except a model example of stylish womanhood. You look fantastic, you look happy, and you look confident. And that's awesome.

And for what it's worth, I'm extremely open and understanding about these things. So this might sound weird, but if you're going to slip up, it'd be best to do it with me. Not only will I not get mad (especially since I know you have no malicious intent), but I will be more than happy to help clear things up if I can. ^_^

I hope that I can be as awesome as you clearly are when I go fulltime. I'm just worried about my voice; it's so deep, and it makes it hard to change it. It's not that I want to go stealth - I don't, once I'm fulltime I'm going to be openly transgender - but I just don't feel right with such a deep voice!

I'm like you. I'm very proud and open about my transgender status. I try to pass, yes, but I don't care if people refer to me as a woman or a trans woman. I'm happy either way (although, I admit I prefer to be acknowledged as trans). As I said, I'm proud of who I am and I earned this, and I WANT to acknowledge it. But I try to pass anyway to avoid being called a man.

As for the voice, you have my sympathy. I never had a particularly deep voice, but it was still distinctly masculine, and I personally still have a really hard time with it. I mean, I have a good voice I'm comfortable with now, but I slip sometimes and never notice it (and that's really not good XD). So, I hope you have better luck with that than me.

I had a super deep voice. Like, Postal Dude deep. Now, I'm comfortably about GLaDOS pitch. If I can, I'd like to share some tips I've collected and learned over the years.

Pitch isn't everything. You know how deep Rick Astley sounds? You can easily make it sound like a natural female voice without changing the pitch by changing the resonance. Tonality matters much more than pitch.

That said, you can absolutely train your voice to naturally rest at a higher pitch. It takes practice and dedication, and it's a lot more than just a skill, like drawing well. Your voice is a muscle, which needs to get used to the work being asked of it. So just because you aren't able to get the sound you want now doesn't mean you are necessarily doing things wrong, it may mean the muscle needs development to be able to do what you ask of it.

I did an experiment once while trying to change my voice. I didn't speak for a whole week. I then tried to use a feminine voice when I broke the seal, but it was far worse. The best way to train your voice is to use it.

As for what to do, I got practice in by imitating GLaDOS and the turrets from Portal, from singing along to female vocals, as much as I could, and by working in a call center, where I could practice with people I would never see again.

One job I tried was bill collections. I got called a bitch, and it didn't sting at all. I was just glad to be acknowledged as female. I did my best to emulate some girls at school as practice. It was still hard to use my voice around friends, but that was a psychological barrier.

Something else to be conscious of, breathe more from your stomach, and speak more in your mouth than your neck. Use the back of your mouth to help shape words rather than your throat. I've found that it helps to try keeping the back of your mouth more open, like during a doctor's "say ahh" exam. The more you shape words at the top, the less bassy resonance you'll have.

I also suggest learning vocal warmups, like singing scales or practicing enunciation and diction. The more control you have with your voice, the better you can train it.

You have a bit of Emma Watson in your smile. You were a handsome man before, and a pretty woman now.

I started reading RAIN because of a mention of it on the Lois McMaster Bujold list, where were have members of a variety of genders and orientations.

A friend's MtF sister was going through her Real Life Year when I met her, and not paying a lot of attention to her neck, took her as she presented. I'd never knowingly met a transitioning person before, and I learned a lot about the community and issues.

We have a lot in common, and we became pretty good friends. When we went to a music festival about a year after I met her, and post-SRS, I was the only one she felt comfortable sharing a room with, and I'm proud of that.

I have a couple of other MtF friends now, two of whom I knew before the transition started. When I see someone who I'm pretty sure is starting to transition, I congratulate them, because it's such a big step, and because I want to provide them with someone positive's comments in hopes of balancing out what I expect they get all too often. I give blessings to women in their last trimester of pregnancy, and wish those in retail/service to be free of any cranky customers, in response to their Have a Good Day--because I see all too many cranky and rude people that they have to stay calm around. I get such looks of relief from them!

I hope I can be as beautiful as you someday. You are such an awesome example for others. Definitely better than me. Some people have called me an inspiration for giving them the courage to transition, I say "please do NOT put that on me."